


Sun-Kissed

by orphan_account



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - No Powers, Boys In Love, First Kiss, Fluff, M/M, Meet-Cute, Romantic Fluff, Summer Romance, Summer Vacation, Tooth-Rotting Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-13
Updated: 2018-04-13
Packaged: 2019-04-22 13:05:38
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,920
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14309280
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: “Sorry - I, uh. I’m Tony. Stark. Uh.” he gestured frenetically to the house, as if to explain why he’d be relevant to Bucky.“James Barnes.” Bucky replied, just as quietly. Tony nodded and god had a more adorable human ever existed?





	Sun-Kissed

**Author's Note:**

> This was going to be multi chapter but I think I'll just leave it here. Hope you enjoy x

“Y’know Steve, I don’t think this is such a good idea.” 

Bucky fiddles with the fraying strap of his backpack. 

“I - I mean, I’ve never even met the guy and he’s letting me stay in his fuckin’ _summer house_ for a month?”

“Buck.”

“Shit. My family barely have a winter house-“

“You mean a normal house? Because I’m pretty sure most people don’t have a winter-“

“Stevie.”

 

Steve grinned at him, blue eyes twinkling, already seeming to have gained a tan in the ten minutes it had taken them to walk up the path. Bucky looked down at his deathly pale legs and grimaced. 

 

“Bucky. Tony _invited_ you as a favour to me. ‘Sides Nat and Sam, I don’t know any of the others either.” The fact didn’t seem to bother him - Bucky wondered what it must be like having a brain that didn’t overthink every little thing.

“I guess…” 

“Plus it would be totally impolite since you already accepted the invitation.” 

Damn it. He had a total complex about being polite and likeable and the smug bastard knew it. 

“Traitor.”

Steve’s smile was somehow sympathetic and teasing all at once. 

“C’mon, Tony talks so fast you won’t have time to think anyway.”

 

Bucky ran a hand through his hair as they rounded the a bend in the driveway. Fuck, the driveway was long enough to have _bends._ The house came into view. 

It had _columns._

“Stevie. It has _columns._ ”

“What did I tell you? Starks are richer than God.” The comment is given with a wry smile that betrays just the slightest bit of intimidation in Steve’s expression. 

 

Sprinklers misted over the pristine grass of the front lawns, water from the ginormous fountain drifting towards them on the still-fresh morning breeze. The front doors were open wide, ushering them in. 

Bucky set his backpack and guitar case down on the floor as he looked around in amazement. This was unreal. 

 

“Hey!” 

“Sam!”  
“Hey man!”

“This is _insane!_ ” 

 

“I know. I think my house could fit inside this lobby about four times.” The guy - Sam - turned to Bucky and reached out a hand.

“Sam Wilson. You must be Bucky.”

“Yeah.” Bucky offers a small grin in response to Sam’s bright smile. “Thanks for lookin’ after this Punk while I was gone.” He claps a hand onto Steve’s shoulder, who gives an outraged squawk.

“Hey, no problem. Could’a left an instruction manual though. I swear, I looked away for a second and he got into two fights and got himself a black eye.” 

Bucky glares at Steve, opening his mouth to ask before he’s interrupted. 

 

“You been gettin’ into fights again Cap?” comes a fake (but actually half decent) Brooklyn drawl. Steve practically glows as his gaze falls on the redhead gliding - and yes, Bucky’s danced before and the way the gal moves can definitely be defined as a glide - down the grand staircase. 

“Hey Nat!” 

Oh jeez. Bucky’d been able to tell Steve had it bad just from his (endless) chatter about Natasha Romanoff, but he hadn’t thought it was _this bad.  
_ “Hey.” she says to Bucky, green eyes cool but not icy, smile playing at the corner of her lips in response to Steve’s overly enthusiastic greeting. 

“Hi.” he says, returning the assessing gaze, “Bucky Barnes. I’ve heard _a lot_ about you.” 

“Oh really?” she smirks, and yeah, even Bucky’s gay ass can see how Steve managed to fall for this one. 

“Some would say too much.” 

 

She laughs and turns to wink at Steve, who - to Bucky’s surprise - just shrugs with a small smile of his own. Another thing to add to the list of ‘Things Bucky Barnes Plans to Interrogate Steve Rogers About’, which - not the catchiest title - but he’s busy being distracted by his best friend managing to _interact with a female._

 

“Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit-” thats… a guy sliding down the bannister, “nailed it!” 

“Clint!” comes a voice accompanied by the thunder of feet coming down the stairs. 

“I’m okay - shit.” Clint shrieks as the stair-thunderer, possibly the biggest Senior guy Bucky has ever seen, slips and barrels into him. 

“Aw, Thor.” Clint groans from underneath the giant who’s booming laugh matches his stature. 

“Ah, new person!” he grins, shaking Bucky’s whole arm rather than just his hand, Steve only faring slightly better. 

Clint just waves at them from where he’s still sprawled on the floor. 

 

“Tony around anywhere?” Steve asks and everyone seems to look around as if he were in the room and they’d just missed him. 

“Huh. I haven’t actually seen him this morning. Bruce?” 

Bucky looks around, confused, until he sees Bruce, hanging back slightly and smiling faintly at his friend’s antics. He smiles and waves awkwardly at Bucky in a way that somehow makes him feel instantly calmer. 

“I think he’s on the phone with Howard.” he grimaced. Everyone else did the same. Another query for Steve, Bucky guesses. 

  
“Well we have mimosas and tapas by the pool, I’m sure he’ll emerge eventually.” Natasha calls over her shoulder, sunglasses and wide brimmed sun hat in place, already halfway to the french doors leading, Bucky supposes, to the pool. 

“There in a sec. Rooms?” Steve turns to the others.

 

Bucky’s really glad that Steve’s taken the brunt of the chatter flying around since they arrived, all the new people becoming a little overwhelming. 

“You okay?” he asks as they ascend the stairs to a landing that could just be another lobby for the size of it. 

“Yeah.” Bucky smiles, and its true. For the first time in a while, he feels excited. 

 

***

After a quick shower, he meets Steve back at the stairs, shooting him a grateful smile for waiting. 

 

There are more people down by the pool, Sam introduces them as Virginia ‘Pepper’ Potts who’s sunbathing on a sun-lounger next to Natasha, and James ‘Rhodey’ Rhodes who waves before he’s dunked under the pool water by Thor, who takes the opportunity to steal the ball in a weird competitive version of water-catch that a few of them have going on. Then there’s T’Challa, who nods to him and Steve and smiles somewhat sagely for a 21-year-old from where he sits on the edge of the pool. All until Clint pulls him in and he comes up sputtering and laughing. 

 

Still no sign of Stark. 

 

Steve gets roped into the weird catch tournament but Bucky (politely!) declines on account of his prosthetic. Which is totally waterproof thanks to it being one of Stark Industries’ pioneering designs, but they don’t know that. 

Its part of the reason he’s been reluctant to come here. The trial scheme that landed him his new shiny arm gave him his life back - at least in a practical sense - after the car accident that had almost taken it way. His life, all on Stark’s dime. And now his summer too, apparently.

Instead of swimming, he moves to sit in the shade by Bruce who offers him a beer and then a coke when he makes an uncomfortable, stuttering refusal. 

Bruce just smiles and holds up his own iced tea. 

“Don’t worry - the most these idiots will pressure you to do is help them walk in a straight line when they decide to call it a night.” he says with a fond smile. 

 

“Tony really wanted to be here when you arrived,” he murmurs after a while, “but things always get a bit heated where his father’s involved. Howard hasn’t always been the… best to him.”

Bucky hums - hopefully conveying understanding because he’s not sure how else to respond. He’d kind of assumed that family issues didn’t extend into rich families, but when he thought about it that was obviously bullshit. Asshole parents were asshole parents, whatever their bank balance. 

 

The first day goes by in a blur of laughter, awe at the incredible _mansion_ he’s going to be calling home for the next month and barbecue courtesy of Sam who was apparently an amazing cook. Eventually they all end up sprawled around an enormous fire pit, wrapped up in blankets and talking quietly. Bucky found himself yawning and waved before leaving for his room and the bed that looked amazingly comfortable.

The stillness of the side of the house his room was in meant that he could hear the faint rushing whoosh of the ocean in the distance when he opened the doors onto his balcony. He had a balcony. That was something he could say now. 

The billowy white curtains floated around in the light breeze, the whole scene emanating calm, and yet as soon as he was alone, Bucky felt wired. 

 

He grabbed his guitar from its case and stepped out onto the moonlit balcony, the air still mostly warm enough for him to be warm enough in his thin t-shirt and shorts. 

His fingers moved over the fret board effortlessly as he settled into a familiar piece, losing himself in the complex finger picking and cadence of the song. He didn’t really need to look at his hands to know that his fingers would fall in the right places, but something about the fluid movements soothed him like nothing else. Even though he lost his arm, somehow he hadn’t lost this. 

 

Eventually he looked up, found that he was being watched, and stopped abruptly.

 

“Hey, sorry, didn’t want to interrupt.” the interrupter said softly, as if unwilling to disturb the notes that still hung in the air.

Brown hair fell into honey brown eyes above full lips, slightly parted. Freckles dusted his cheeks, likely from spending time in the sun going by the golden tan of his shoulders and chest and - oh, abs and -

When Bucky didn’t respond (except for gaping) he blushed. _Fuck_ that was beautiful.

 

“Sorry - I, uh. I’m Tony. Stark. Uh.” he gestured frenetically to the house, as if to explain why he’d be relevant to Bucky. 

“James Barnes.” Bucky replied, just as quietly. Tony nodded and _god_ had a more adorable human ever existed? 

Finally remembering how introductions normally went, Bucky smiled, managing:

“Sorry, I get into a kinda… haze I guess? Stevie literally had to use an airhorn once.” 

Tony chuckles and smiles down at his feet and _oh_ he’s gorgeous. 

 

“What was that?” he asks, gesturing to the guitar, “I haven’t heard it before.” 

“Oh, uh,” Bucky’s turn to blush, “it’s uh, actually classical? Totally uncool I know.” he grins, falling into the lie - he’d actually say that a seven years of his life, eight guitar exams and a music scholarship was actually pretty cool, but most people didn’t seem to-

“No! It was beautiful - I mean nice uh-“ his face screwed up adorably - and Bucky was going to have to stop thinking that or he was going to make a fool of himself - as he floundered, 

“I… I kinda forgot about-” Tony looks towards his room and catches himself before he can divulge anymore, smiling a ‘what-can-you-do?’ smile. Bucky hadn’t noticed it at first in the moonlight, but Tony’s eyes are slightly red rimmed, tear tracks faintly visible on his cheeks. 

“I was gonna play for a bit longer, if its not disturbing you?” _If you want to listen?_

“Go ahead.” Tony says softly, and after a moment of apparent indecision, to Bucky’s delight plops down in a chair on his own balcony, which is just slightly out of reaching distance from Bucky’s own. 

He settles his fingers over the strings and starts the piece again, just catching Tony’s faint sigh over the first few notes. 


End file.
